"He has knobbly knees, and turned-out toes, and a poisonous wart at the end of his nose."

At Allsorted we strive to help our customers be more successful with books, often going the extra mile to make it happen.

Recently our much-loved colleague, Claire Corns, was approached by one of her garden centres about an upcoming half-term reading event – just a week before it was set to happen!

With next to no time to arrange a local author, Claire took it upon herself to volunteer her services and do a public reading of Julia Donaldson favourite ‘The Gruffalo'.

“We decided to highlight the fact that the Gruffalo was 25 years old! The children loved it and even danced to the song at the end of the book. I felt like a rock star!”

Going to show the popularity of Julia Donaldson, Claire admitted “I was amazed at how many of the children knew all the words of the book and were able to name all the other books in the series.”

“The customer [Pugh’s Garden Village, Morganstown] set aside a section in the book area and laid out lots of cushions for the kids to sit down and get comfortable. With announcements being made around the centre by tannoy, those cushions were soon filled with little bums!”

We’re sure Claire will continue to read lots of children’s books having just welcomed her first granddaughter, Hallie, to the family in March this year.

Keep up the fantastic work, Nana Claire!